Top 10 Mistakes Women Make in The Gym

1.Wearing The Wrong Workout Clothes

If you do intense workouts every day, you can’t get away with wearing flimsy, bargain buy workout clothes. True workout clothes are designed with the conditions of demanding physical activities in mind. When you are moving your body quickly and for long periods of time, it needs different things from its clothing. Gravity works harder on your muscles and tissue; you sweat profusely, and your skin rubs against itself constantly. Your standard brunch outfit material simply won’t make the cut. If you skimp on your workout wardrobe, you can experience a lot of discomforts, and even heighten the chances of injury. If you’re distracted by itchy material, you may not pay attention to the weights you’re lifting or the speed on the treadmill.

2.Using Less weights

Women are usually found picking up the least amount of weights or somewhere close to it. Women are usually considered to have less capacity than men. But, this does not mean that you begin with the least amount of weights. You can try starting with the weights that you think you are capable to pick. This can be anything in between the range that is available. Starting with an exact amount of weight will help you improve your own capacity and thus achieve results sooner.

3.Way Too Much Cardio

You should avoid steady state cardio and focus more on high intensity interval training (HIIT). Increase your workout intensity, but lower your duration.Try something new (kickboxing, circuit training, sprints, or intervals on different machines) and continue to switch things up to keep your body guessing. HIIT improves your hormonal state and your body’s ability to burn fat and build lean muscle.

4.Bad Form

Bad form continues to be one of the biggest gym killers amongst trainees. The purpose of proper form is to fully engage your muscle fibers, as this causes the growth. When your form is not optimal, growth is simply not happening, and causes no changes to your body. It is important to remember that when you’re using weights, you must contract the weight to the specific body part you are targeting (and not push the weight). Bad form can also lead to injuries. Make sure your form is optimal when performing a proper workout.

5.Focusing on only one form of workout

While you are working out, it is important to perform different kinds of workouts. Cardio and strength training workouts both play an important role in fitness. Cardio helps in burning fat, whereas strength training exercises help in metabolism burning. Hence, it is important that you combine both of these forms of workouts to make sure that you achieve appropriate results.

6.Crunches

We all want flat abs but doing endless crunches is not going to get you there. Your abs are made in the kitchen with a great diet. Eat real, whole foods and avoid the processed junk and you will be well on your way to the stomach you want.

7.Setting Unrealistic Goals

Setting unrealistic goals can often lead to unhappiness and disappointment. Make sure that whatever goal you set, it is one that is attainable in the near future. Setting short-term goals is key, as it leads to a more attainable and gradual progress while keeping you motivated and goal driven. Set short-term goals, conquer them, and then move on to new goals. This approach is most effective.

8.Being Tired of Working out

As time passes by, women are found to skip out a few workouts or reduce the intensity or the reps that they perform. But, this will not help you in any way. You should always move forward and take up more reps and workouts of higher intensity as the time passes. Your body gradually gets used to the regular exercises that you may be performing. It is important to increase the intensity or the reps to make sure that you are increasing your body’s capacity to perform more.

9.Carb Loading

Lower to moderate carb intake is the most effective way to get lean. Athletic performance is different than weight loss and training for body composition. If you are competing in marathons and triathlons you may need to eat a few extra carbs before your 2–8 hour workouts but if your primary purpose is to get a lean fit body, then stop eating carbs before your workout.

10.Long Breaks

Following break times is not only a problem amongst females, but males as well. We tend to (at times) get lost in the world of social media or simply have a conversation with someone that goes on for too long. Each rest time has its own distinct purpose, typically fat loss. Rest times should range between 10-90 seconds. Unless you’re a woman seeking strength gains, then your rest times should range between 3 to 6 minutes. Shorter rest periods with high volume trigger a greater GH (growth hormone) response. The GH response is necessary for fat burning, thus making the importance of shorter rest times that much more crucial. Keep those conversations short ladies (unless you’re a power lifter, then it’s cool).

If you are looking for workout clothes check our fitness and yoga leggings page.
Sources:www.lifehack.org,www.betterhumans.coach.me,www.thetalko.com

Top 10 Best And Worst Cardio Exercises To Loose Weight

Best Cardio Exrcises

1.Burpees

Burpees are a great all-around workout that strengthen the arms, core, chest and legs, all while raising your heart rate. Start in a pushup position, palms planted on the ground at shoulder-width and place your feet behind you. In an explosive motion, bring your feet in close to your hands. Quickly move to a standing position, throwing your hands in the air above your head. Do 10-12 in a row.

2. Air Runner

Stepping onto the treadmill to log another mindless 30-minute jog might sound like the most unappealing way to spend a workout — so don’t waste your time. Instead, cut your running time in half and ramp up the intensity with this curved tread, specifically designed for sprinting.

Better yet, the motor-free machine is built to be powered by your strides. There’s no max speed, either, so try your best to push it as hard as you can during sprint interval workouts.

Think you can handle the speed? Try this workout: Perform a 15-second sprint as fast as you can, and then rest for 15 seconds. Keep your chest high and your core braced the entire time you’re running. That’s 1 round.

3.Stair Mill

Effectiveness: A
Functionality: A-
Availability: A-

Every booty loves the stair mill. What could be more functional than walking up a never-ending flight of stairs? We suggest intervals for the best workout. Just try not to support too much of your upper body on the handles; you might feel like you’re still doing work, but your workout will be much less intense and you’ll burn fewer calories.

4.Mountain Climbers

Warning: this exercise should not be performed on a real mountain. It can be done just about anywhere else, however. Start on your hands and knees with a slight bend in your back. Bring the right foot up to your chest and put it back, then quickly do the same with the left. Continue alternating feet with your hands planted firmly in front of you for 30-40 reps.

5. Assault AirBike

The Assault AirBike might look like it belongs in a dust-filled corner of your high school’s weight room, but it deserves respect. “No one climbs off of one of these thinking, ‘That was easy,’ ” says De Wispelaere, who has seen a few clients almost heave after an Assault AirBike workout.

The reason it’s so tough: The Assault AirBike is a stationary bike without a motor. It only has a fan in its front wheel that provides wind resistance. The harder you pump your arms and pedal your legs, the higher the resistance becomes. “While it’s easy on your joints, it provides an intense aerobic workout that burns a ton of calories in a short amount of time,” says De Wispelaere.

If you’re looking for a finisher to tack onto your regular workout, De Wispelaere recommends sprinting for 15 seconds, then resting for 15 seconds. That’s one round. Do six. If you’d rather test your endurance instead, do three miles as fast as possible.

Worst Cardio Exrcises

1.CROSSFIT

“CrossFit-style workouts are exploding in popularity around the world and are often promoted as the best way to get in shape and improve health,” Petre says.

“I don’t want to be controversial, but if your goal is to lose weight and improve health, CrossFit is the number one exercise you should avoid. It’s too intense for many people, and often includes high-risk activities.”

“The number one rule about losing weight through exercise is that you can’t exercise to lose weight if you’re injured,” she adds.

“If you’re a fit, active, and athletic individual, CrossFit might be the best workout for you, but if your body is not already in top shape, don’t unnecessarily risk injury. You’re likely to lose more weight if you combine a healthy diet with a moderate exercise program that’s more sustainable.”

2.Recumbent Bike

Effectiveness: D
Functionality: F
Availability: B

With your upper body, torso, and even your butt at rest, the recumbent bike asks your body to do almost nothing but move your legs. If you’re looking for a chair to sit in while you read a book or catch up on your favorite Netflix episodes, this is your guy.

3.PILATES

“Pilates, like yoga, has a lot of health benefits that will help you live better, ranging from improved flexibility and balance to deeper relaxation, but fast fat burn is not one of them,” Petre says.

“Because it helps you gradually build and strengthen your muscles, it can be a great way to prevent getting injured while training. However, you need to do heavy compound weightlifting on the big muscle groups along with cardio to maximise fat loss, and Pilates does not incorporate either type of exercise.”

4.Elliptical

Effectiveness: D
Functionality: F
Availability: A

We’re putting the elliptical below the Arc trainer, because the Arc trainer offers more versatility. However, we have the same problems with the elliptical; it’s just unnatural and ineffective. Further, setting the resistance at a level any lower than a 10 is about as effective at burning calories as sitting on the couch.

The elliptical’s only plus side is that it’s a low-impact option. However, we think the bike or swimming are much more effective options if you’re limited by an injury.

5.YOGA

“Yoga represents the polar opposite to CrossFit, but this doesn’t mean that it will shed those layers of fast food on the body,” Petre says. “In fact, a 150-pound [68kg] person will burn only 150 calories in an hour of doing regular yoga, compared to 311 calories for an hour of walking at 3mph [4.8kmh].”

“Increasing your physical activity is a good first step towards losing weight,” she says. “It’s true that yoga can help you gain strength and tone up, but if you aim to shed pounds, you want to work as much of your body as possible to lose weight and stimulate your metabolism.”

If you are looking for workout clothes check our fitness and yoga leggings page.
Sources:www.healthfitnessrevolution.com,www.stuff.co.nz,www.menshealth.com,www.bodybuilding.com

Top 10 Cardio Exercises That Burn More Calories Than Running

1.Swimming

We’re not talking a leisurely swim here, but if you choose the right stroke and maintain a high level of intensity, calories burned swimming can be more than running. “Swimming is one of my favorite exercises because it not only involves your entire body but also puts less stress on your joints,” reveals Dempsey Marks, fitness expert and creator of the PreGame Fit fitness and lifestyle program. “

With each stroke you must use your legs, arms, and core just to stay afloat. That is a great start to calorie burn because of muscle recruitment.” Marks recommends the butterfly stroke to maximize calorie burn and says an average 150-person person will burn 400 calories per half hour. A more popular stroke, such as the breast stroke, will burn 375 calories per 30 minutes. To add some resistance, swim in an ocean where a current will make you work harder and up the calorie burn.

2.Kettlebell Swings

These exercises help you burn calories and sculpt a lean figure. They are great for sculpting the glutes and quads while giving your body an overall workout.

TOP TIP: The BodyRock Sandbag is a more cost-effective version of a kettlebell. You can make it whatever weight you want by filling or emptying the internal bags, and it can be used for way more exercises than a traditional kettlebell!

3.Tabata Training

Tabata training is a high-intensity exercise modality that burns a lot of calories in a short period of time. The protocol consists of doing 20 seconds of work at an all-out pace, followed by 10 seconds of recovery. You repeat this eight times. Almost any activity can be done in a Tabata-training style. A typical Tabata workout might include four exercises — for example, push-ups, squats, jumping rope and crunches. Although the first round might seem easy, just wait. By round eight, your muscles will be screaming! A study conducted by the American Council on Exercise determined that a typical Tabata workout can burn an average of 15 calories per minute, or 450 calories per half hour (workouts usually don’t last longer than 20 to 30 minutes).

4. Boxing

You don’t have to get in the ring against an opponent to knock out calories with boxing-style workouts. Hit a heavy bag, work with a partner, or just perform punch combos on air to smash through calories — up to 800 per hour, if a study from supplement maker Forza’s claims are correct.

5.Jumping rope

If you’re wondering what activity can burn more calories than running and also make you feel like a kid again, go back to your jumping rope school-days! It’s a simple exercise that burns calories fast and engages the whole body. “The faster you jump, the higher the calorie burn,” says Marks. “An average 150-pound person burns 375 calories per 30 minutes of rope jumping.” This is an exercise that you can incorporate into intensity training by changing the rate of jumping. “Go hard for one minute then back off to a skip,” suggests Marks. “Use this formula to increase the benefits of the workout as well as the calorie burn!”

6.Burpees

Burpees are great for reducing excess body fat. The American College of Sports Medicine found that a 180 pound man could burn almost 1.5 calories per burpee. Those numbers only get better when you ramp up the number of burpees you do in a short time. Try for 10 burpees in 60 seconds.

Top Tip: Adding the BodyRock Weighted Vest to your burpees adds 6-10lbs of extra weight to your body, increasing the calorie-burn-rate substantially!

7.Hill Workouts

Whether you’re biking or running, throw some resistance in the mix to significantly boost your calorie burn. “Running up a steep hill recruits more muscle fibers,” says ACSM spokesperson Jim White. “It’s going to be taxing, and it’s going to definitely burn more calories.” In fact, you’ll burn about 10 percent more calories for each degree of incline versus running on a flat surface. That means a 155-pound person running at a five-mph pace will burn 373 calories every half hour at a five-percent grade versus 298 calories at the same speed on a flat surface. Get those glutes firing even more and up your calorie burn at the same time by incorporating more hills into your workout.

8. Agility Ladder

You’ll burn a ton of calories with the short bursts of speed, balance, and coordination it takes to finish a full agility ladder circuit—especially if you run through the drills continuously with limited rest.

But your brain might get the best benefit from this type of cardio exercise. A 2014 study from the Air Force Research Laboratory showed that agility training can improve cognitive performance along with boosting cardio levels. Instead of just plodding mindlessly along on a run, agility drills help you hone your VO2 max, athletic footwork, memory, and concentration.

9.HIIT

Schaltze is an advocate of any form of HIIT (high intensity interval training) workout to burn more calories than running. “These workouts are short and effective,” she says. “You burn calories, build muscle, and you don’t need any fancy equipment. With any HIIT workout, I like to combine cardio movements with body weight strength movements to ensure the body burns calories not only during the workout but also after.” Schaltze’s advice is start with basic movements, performing them back-to-back with minimal rest. Her 10-minute HIIT workout consists of 50 jumping jacks, 40 alternating side lunges, 30 tricep dips (using a chair), and 20 squats or squat jumps. Set a timer for 10 minutes and do as many rounds as you can in that time.

10. Cross-Country Skiing

Zipping along on skis delivers a better cardio workout compared to running at about the same pace, thanks to the fact that the sport requires you to push with your lower-body and pull with your upper.

In fact, a good cross-country ski session can burn more than 12 calories a minute, according to the Compendium of Physical Activities.

That explains why Nordic Skiers consistently collapse in exhaustion at the finish line of Olympic races. (No fresh snow? Look for the new Concept2 SkiErg machine at your gym.)

If you are looking for workout clothes check out our fitness and yoga leggings page.
Sources:www.rd.com,www.livestrong.com,www.menshealth.com

Top 10 Fitness Cutting Tips

Well Cutting is the hardest part, here are my top 10 tips to make cutting more pleasant.

1.Create a calorie deficit

To shed fat, you have to lower the number of calories you eat per day so your body is forced to make up that energy shortfall by using stored body fat.

A single pound of fat contains approximately 3,500 calories so if you want to lose a pound per week, you’ll need to eat 500 calories less per day. If you want to lose two pounds per week, you’ll need to drop 1000 calories per day.

2.Reduce your daily intake of liquid calories

When you’re trying to lose body fat, one thing that will undoubtedly help your cause is to stop drinking so many calories – especially those high-sugar, nutrient-light drinks. Subjects who replaced their daily can of sugar-laden fizzy pop with the same amount of water lowered their total daily liquid calorie intake from 17% to 11%, according to research from Virginia Tech in the US, which is almost down to the 10% limit of liquid calories recommended by authorities.

A can of pop can contain around 35g of sugar – enough to send your blood sugar levels rocketing then crashing, making you crave another sugar hit. The sweeteners in diet varieties have been shown to increase hunger levels so you eat more, according to the University of Sydney – so your best bet is calorie-free soda water. Add fruit wedges for flavour.

3.Drop the Carbs Down

The foods to reduce in this category would be sugar, which includes candy, cakes, pies, etc. But it also includes fruit. I hear so many people say how healthy they eat and then proceed to tell me they load up on fruit. Fruit is mostly sugar. Natural sugar is still sugar, and it still makes you fat if you eat too much of it. Okay, so we have sugar clarified. More foods that are sugary: pasta, potatoes, some other veggies – research those. Don’t forget rice and bread are sugary, too.

bodyfat, female athlete, bodybuilding, getting lean, cutting weight

Another misconception is that brown rice and pasta and whole grain breads don’t do the same thing as their regular white counterparts. Truth is – they do.They just have a little more fiber and digest more slowly, so you don’t get quite the same insulin spike, but they are still a carb and they can still cause fat gain if you overeat them

4.Increase Your Calorie Deficit With Cardio

When cutting, you’ll have already worked out what your calorie level is and be eating at a deficit in order to lose weight. By performing hard cardio, you’ll heighten your metabolic rate and burn even more calories. This means that you’ll lose weight faster and can also make up for days where you’ve over-eaten and need to burn extra.

Increase Lean Muscle Tissue To Help Your Cut

Building muscle also helps burn fat. Performing high rep exercises designed to build mass results in more lean muscle tissue. This tissue raises your metabolism, which heightens the rate you burn calories. To put it simply, the more lean muscle you build, the better your cut will go. Ditch the idea of shrinking your body and instead think of reshaping it.

5.Pump up the protein

Protein is vital during a shred – it’s very thermogenic (burns fat) and will also preserve your muscle mass you don’t lose your hard-won muscle as you burn fat. Consume at least one gram per pound of bodyweight and up to 1.5 grams per pound if you are training especially hard. Choose low fat protein options such as fish and chicken to avoid consuming unwanted calories.

Getting enough protein is not always easy so consider using a protein powder that mixes easily with water in a shaker cup to make getting enough of the good stuff much easier.

6.Get your fibre on

Research has shown that some fibre can fire up your fat burning by as much as 30%. These studies have found that those who are consuming the most amount of fibre are gaining less weight over a period of time. It’s best to aim for around 25g per day – start by adding wholegrains to your diet.

7.Resistance Training

Ladies, listen very closely: you will not bulk up from resistance training. If you start getting bigger, it is most likely because you are also eating more. You may put on a little lean mass, but it should not cause you to outgrow your pants. In fact, if you clearly know what foods are acceptable, watching your nutrition, and doing resistance training, you should be getting smaller and leaner.

Just because you work out doesn’t mean it’s time to go get a pizza because you “just worked off the calories.” It’s simple, if you have a high body fat percentage, you are eating too much, unless there are medical reasons surrounding your weight in which case you should be even more attentive to your food intake.

8.Be Ready To Deal With Hunger

In order to get properly shredded, you’re going to feel hungry. Your cut will test your patience and your endurance as you’ll begin feeling hungry when you’re bored and at random parts of the day.

Don’t be tempted to cheat on your diet with mindless snacking or eat more than you should.

At the end of the day, you’re cutting by your own free will in order to look exceptional, so keep that goal in mind at all times and build the mental fortitude a bodybuilder needs to succeed.

9.Drink more water

Water is essential for flushing out toxins, burning fat, keeping you hydrated, and also for making you feel fuller. Drink at least eight 8-ounce glasses of water a day making sure you drink one glass before all your main meals to prevent overeating. Drink even more water anytime you feel hungry.

10.Increase your vitamin D levels.

This doesn’t include sitting in the sun for hours on end. Vitamin D absorbed from food is essential for the preservation of muscle tissue. You can get 90% of your recommended daily intake from a 100g piece of salmon. So eat plenty of fish, eggs, milk and cereals to get your intake up.

If you are looking for workout clothes check our fitness and yoga leggings page. Sources: http://www.maxinutrition.com, http://www.anaxfitness.com, http://www.coachmag.co.uk, http://www.breakingmuscle.com